We grow the above as an ornamental flowering climber (and very lovely it
is) but I know back where it comes from it is cultivated as a food crop
so I just wondered if it was something anyone has tried?
--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:
We grow the above as an ornamental flowering climber (and very lovely it
is) but I know back where it comes from it is cultivated as a food crop
so I just wondered if it was something anyone has tried?

No, but I am trying Ipomoea alba for that in my new greenhouse - so
far, it is not doing well.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 31/05/2020 20:02, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:
We grow the above as an ornamental flowering climber (and very lovely it
is) but I know back where it comes from it is cultivated as a food crop
so I just wondered if it was something anyone has tried?

No, but I am trying Ipomoea alba for that in my new greenhouse - so
far, it is not doing well.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

You dont need a greenhouse for the Bomarea its perfectly hardy (well the
tubers below the frost line are)

The reason I am wary is that many of these tuber producing crops were
brought back along with potatoes and a lot were being grown in Cornwall
back in the Elizabethan era but not now and it makes you wonder why not.
it may be the taste but there are other reasons - some years ago I was
told by a Chilean lady that the tubours of Tropaeolum tuberosum were
used by local wemon in the food to stop their men folk being so frisky
(she went quite pink while telling me!!) so I can see why that
particular plant is no longer grown here

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

You dont need a greenhouse for the Bomarea its perfectly hardy (well the
tubers below the frost line are)

My experience of such plants is that they survive only the mildest
and driest of winters - which is an unusual combination! If only a
small part of a tuber is frosted, the whole tuber usually rots.
Cambridge is a lot colder than anywhere in Cornwall (even Brown Willy),
so you might be able to.

I have grown several of them, and here is a summary:

Oca - apparently, it enlarges its tubers when the weather gets cool
(but stays well above freezing) and the nights lengthen - well, that
doesn't happen for me, so I got lots of little tubers. They taste
nice, like an acidic potato.

Ulloco - well, for me, it did damn all and I didn't even get ONE
tuber out of 5 apparently healthy plants!

Yacon - a success, sort of - it grew well, and produced large (Kg +)
tubers, which were crisp and sweetish and would make a very good
addition to summer salads, but it didn't crop until autumn.

Mashua (Trop. tuber.) - pleasantly spicy, produced only small tubers
(but I did not give it a good spot), and seriously frost-tender.

Crosne - grew well, straggled as badly as oca, and produced a zillion
nice and crunchy small tubers, which overwintered and grew (including
as weeds) - but was a real pain to prepare.

And possibly others I have forgotten.

I have grown quite a lot of other exotic (non-tuberous) vegetables,
and am still doing so. Few are worth continuing with.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 01/06/2020 17:43, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

You dont need a greenhouse for the Bomarea its perfectly hardy (well the
tubers below the frost line are)

My experience of such plants is that they survive only the mildest
and driest of winters - which is an unusual combination! If only a
small part of a tuber is frosted, the whole tuber usually rots.
Cambridge is a lot colder than anywhere in Cornwall (even Brown Willy),
so you might be able to.

I have grown several of them, and here is a summary:

Oca - apparently, it enlarges its tubers when the weather gets cool
(but stays well above freezing) and the nights lengthen - well, that
doesn't happen for me, so I got lots of little tubers. They taste
nice, like an acidic potato.

Ulloco - well, for me, it did damn all and I didn't even get ONE
tuber out of 5 apparently healthy plants!

Yacon - a success, sort of - it grew well, and produced large (Kg +)
tubers, which were crisp and sweetish and would make a very good
addition to summer salads, but it didn't crop until autumn.

Mashua (Trop. tuber.) - pleasantly spicy, produced only small tubers
(but I did not give it a good spot), and seriously frost-tender.

Crosne - grew well, straggled as badly as oca, and produced a zillion
nice and crunchy small tubers, which overwintered and grew (including
as weeds) - but was a real pain to prepare.

And possibly others I have forgotten.

I have grown quite a lot of other exotic (non-tuberous) vegetables,
and am still doing so. Few are worth continuing with.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thanks, its interesting to know

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk